Broken Bond
by Ephemeral Blossoms
Summary: When Sasuke finds himself falling for Sakura, he realizes the truth. SasuSaku. Character death.
1. Realization

A/N: My last Naruto one-shot for a while (most likely). Please R&R! Italics stand for Sasuke's thoughts. Bold italics are flashbacks. This takes place during Shippuuden. No particular time period in the series. Just a random time that doesn't follow the storyline (except for Team Hebi). I also say that two years have gone by instead of three because it's been two years since Sasuke left the village, three since the start of the story.

BTW, "Baka" means "Stupid" or "Idiot".

Summary: When Sasuke finds himself falling for Sakura, he has to sever that bond. SasuSaku. Rated T.

**DISCLAIMER:**I do not own, or will ever own, Naruto or its characters or its settings etc...It is all property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump/Viz.

_**Broken Bond**_

_It's been two years already, huh…_

Two hands opened a shoji door. The intense black eyes of the teen looked up at the moon, his face illuminated by the white light. The youngest Uchiha was sitting in a small abandoned house in the outskirts of Konoha.

_I severed my bond with you already, so,,,_

_Why do I feel this way when I think about you?_

Sasuke stood up, "Damn it all…I need some leads on Itachi…" He looked out through the trees. He knew that somewhere beyond them, Sakura, Naruto, and maybe even Kakashi were there, still intact, but chipped at the edges.

_These are the times when I wish I had the Byakugan…Wait a minute, why do I care? I don't…right?_

Sasuke looked behind him. Team Hebi was sleeping quietly in their futons. Jiroubo and Suigetsu were sound asleep. All was still.

"SASUKE-KUN, I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING!"

Sasuke jumped, "Sakura?" the sharingan user questioned. Was he going insane or was his past coming back to haunt him?

He wasn't. It was only Karin talking in her sleep as her lips were puckered up. She looked like she was awaiting a kiss.

Sasuke sighed, "Baka…"

Karin reminded him a little bit of Haruno Sakura except that…

_Sakura was actually pretty._

The fifteen year old stepped off the porch and left the deserted house. He walked on through the cool forest and looked up at the moon once again. It looked exactly the same way it had on that one night…

"_**Sasuke-kun, I love you more than anything! If you stay, I'll make sure you won't regret it. I'll make you happy! And if you can't stay…then please, take me with you, Sasuke-kun."**_

"_**Hm…After all this time…You're still annoying."**_

"_**Please don't go! If you do, I'll scream and-"**_

"_**Sakura…Thank-you**__."_

_Hmm…I still remember that look of shock and horror in her eyes. How could I have made her feel that way? Or a better question, why?_

_**Sasuke! I'll bring you back, even if it means ripping your limbs apart!**_

_**To me…you were like…a brother.**_

"Hm," Sasuke smirked, "What a kid. He was obnoxious, loud, and stupid…But he was my…" he trailed off.

"Ugh, it's time to stop reminiscing. I already cut off those ties. Why bother remembering them? They'll only get in the way. I should focus on finding Itachi instead of thinking about these pointless things…"

Sasuke continued walking aimlessly. He didn't want to enter the Leaf Village, but he just wanted to wander around. It was rather comforting.

The sharingan user's black cloak flapped in the wind. He realized that he was walking a path he had once walked before.

It was the path Team Seven took when escorting Tazuna to the Village Hidden in the Mist.

_Team Seven…They gave me so many memories…Both good and bad…They gave me the option of an alternate path…But those are all part of a distant and broken bond now, right? They mean nothing to me._

The moon shone a white light in Sasuke's face. He looked up at it. As the wind blew in his face, leaves seemed to dance around him, the same way they had on that night. He stared at his feet.

_That pale light…It's like your complexion. _

Sasuke started walking faster.

_Your sea foam eyes. Your beautiful hair. _

Sasuke broke into a run, his eyes closed to shut away the world. Rain began to fall softly to the ground.

_I love all things about you; your smile, your emotions, your inner self that you force away in front of others, and even your imperfections. I always have, ever since I met you. I forced myself to put that feeling aside two years ago. I even forgot about that feeling, but now it's back, and it won't go away._

_You're my everything._

As Sasuke ran, he tripped over a tree root and fell to his knees. He gripped the wet soil with his colorless hands as the rain began to fall harder. He choked out a sob for the first time in seven years; he realized what he had to do.

_I love you…_

_Sakura. _

* * *

"Naruto!"

"Sakura-chan-ttebayo!"

It was a beautiful afternoon in Konohagakure. The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The two friends were standing in the busy streets of the village.

"How are you, Naruto?"

"I'm 'kay," Naruto yawned, "I got practically no sleep last night. I'm so excited that we have that mission tomorrow, and we're going to Sunagakure! We're going to get to see Gaara-ttebayo!"

"_SHANNARO! I BET YOU WERE JUST HIGH OFF RAMEN!" _Inner Sakura screamed as the outer one asked a question.

"Naruto…Do you even remember what the mission is?"

"Um…" Naruto's face went red, "I'll think about that tomorrow. Anyway, are you still up for some ramen tonight?" Naruto asked with a huge grin on his face.

Sakura blushed, "I'm sorry Naruto. I have to leave earlier today for a surprise mission. It's a C-ranked mission, so I'm just going to go by myself. I am a chuunin, so it won't take long. I only have to drop off a scroll at The Village Hidden in the Tea. All of our messenger birds are out, and the scroll needs to be delivered today.

Naruto frowned, "Aww, why do you have to go alone? I can go with you if you want me to. The village isn't that far, we can get there in a couple of hours."

Sakura smiled, "It's really important for this mission to get there ASAP, so it'll be faster if I go by myself. Tsundade-sama approves this. Besides, I'm a chuunin med-nin. I'm capable of fighting, and I'm good with both ninjutsu and genjutsu. I'll be fine!"

"Capable of fighting…" Naruto failed to finish his sentence.

"YOU DON"T BELIEVE ME!?!?" Sakura's eye began to twitch.

"I BELIEVE YOU!!!" Naruto shivered. He had experienced first hand how strong Sakura could be.

"Good then," Sakura beamed, "Hey, did you want to go get some ramen now? Your treat."

"Sure, dattebayo!" Naruto agreed. He did NOT feel like getting pounded by Sakura at the moment although his wallet was close to empty.

The two ran off to Ichiraku Ramen. They sat down on the stools and ordered their ramen.

"Itadakimasu!' they said together in unison. Naruto picked up his chopsticks and immediately began eating.

Sakura seemed to only stare at her food instead of eating it. Her chopsticks were still on the table.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan? Not enough noodles in the ramen?"

"Naruto…"

"…Do you think Sasuke-kun will ever come back?"

A sing teardrop fell to the ground.

Naruto looked at his friend, sadness rekindling itself in his heart.

"Sakura-chan…"

"I miss him so much," she began to shake, "Why did he have to leave us? Why didn't he ever let anyone in? Why couldn't I stop him? It's my fault for everything, isn't it? Why am I so stupid!?! I'm completely useless!"

Naruto was unable to really answer her, "Sakura-chan…You're not useless!...But hey, I wasn't able to bring him back either…"

The adolescents finished their ramen in silence.

"I have to go to the Village Hidden in the Tea now," Sakura stood up, "They have the scroll at the gates."

Naruto nodded, "I'll walk you there."

Sakura and Naruto walked together in silence towards the main gates. Sasuke's name really was a taboo between the two of them.

When they made it to the main gates, Sakura turned to look at Naruto, "Thanks for walking me. I'll see you tomorrow morning for our mission!"

"Take care, Sakura-chan," Naruto waved good-bye.

Sakura waved back and ran towards the area where Izumi and Koetsu were. She took the scroll and ran out of the village.

Sakura had been running for about an hour and was out of the Village Hidden in the Leaves when thoughts of Uchiha Sasuke began to make their way to her heart. She began think while making her way through the trees.

_Where are you Sasuke-kun?_

All of a sudden, a kunai hit a tree in front of her with brute force. The wood of the tree cracked and split open. Sakura, startled, began looking around for the attacker.

"Who's there?" she yelled

When there was no answer, she screamed, "WHO'S THERE!?!?"

A sharp pain abruptly shot up through Sakura's body. She looked down at her chest, the source of the pain, but saw nothing.

Without warning, a sword stabbed through the pink-haired teen's chest. Blood began to spurt everywhere. Sakura fell into a pool of her own blood, unable to even scream.

_The speed…It's so incredible...I felt the pain before the attack was even visible to the human eye… _

"You haven't changed, have you?..."

"Sakura."

Sakura's eyes opened wide with surprise and fear.

"Sasuke-kun?"

A figure jumped down from a branch above. His cloak flapped with the breeze. Dark eyes looked down at Sakura with disgust.

"I never truly severed our bond. Today's the day that it will be shredded to pieces."

A/N: Is it really Sasuke? What will happen to Sakura? Read the next chapter - Consequence!


	2. Consequence

A/N: Last chapter! Last two-shot for a while too…So enjoy. It's tragic. Don't read it unless you enjoy tragedies or want a depressing and possibly weird ending. Again, italics represent thoughts and sometimes sound effects.

Ahaha, some of the dialogue was inspired by Oh! Naruto Nippon!

**DISCLAIMER:**I do not and will never own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do not own Oh! Naruto Nippon! either.

_**Broken Bond – Consequence**_

"I never truly severed our bond. Today's the day that it will be shredded to pieces."

"Sasuke-kun…Why?" Sakura asked her attacker weakly.

Uchiha Sasuke stared at Sakura, his dark eyes looming at her unrelenting, "I realized last night that just because I left you two years ago doesn't mean that I actually severed our bond. I'll never be able to kill Uchiha Itachi if know that I'm still connected to you."

Sakura smiled tearfully at Sasuke, "So, you're saying that I have to die in order for you to be happy?"

When there was no reply, Sakura slowly began to stand up as she began breathing heavily, "Well," she said as she looked down at the ground, "I'm not going to go down without a fight, Sasuke-kun."

"I hit a vital point," Sasuke scoffed, "Even though I somehow missed your heart, you'll die within minutes. You'll die even faster if you stand up now."

Sakura looked back up observed Sasuke. A violet diamond exactly like the Fifth Hokages's had appeared on her own forehead, "You know, I've learned a thing or two from Tsunade-sama."

The diamond began to unleash itself. Her body began to glow a pale green as the wound in her chest began healing rapidly. Sakura clenched her fist and pounded the ground with a _BANG_. Pieces of forest terrain began flying everywhere.

She smirked as the diamond faded , "Let the games begin!"

"Cell regeneration?" Sasuke murmured, "Hmph, just don't bore me," he replied to his former teammate as he jumped backwards to land on intact ground.

Sakura ran towards Sasuke to attack as thoughts swirled angrily in her mind.

_Sasuke-kun…I never imagined that our reunion would be like this! Why? Maybe I can just sedate you…_

_But right now, I just wanna cry…_

The pink-haired teen jumped up above Sasuke, her fist in the air, "SHANNARO!!!!" she screamed as she hammered into Sasuke.

Instead of meeting Sasuke's body, her fist blew up the ground.

Sakura swore, "Dammit."

_Shannaro…He's so fast! I never even saw him move! Sasuke-kun's gotten so strong within the two years he's been gone. He's probably at ANBU level not if not S-class! He's better than Kakashi-sensei…He could probably give an Akatsuki member a good fight. When I fought Sasori, I barely beat him and I had Chiyo-baasama with me…_

_Does this mean that the only means of escape is to kill him?_

As Sasuke avoided Sakura's attack and landed on a tree branch, he thought, _Damn, if she hits me, it's all over…Not like she can anyway. But she keeps on blowing up the ground…I may need to activate Curse Seal Level Two just so I can fly and get rid of her sooner…_

Sakura stood on a solid piece of ground, her hands curled into fists. Her green orbs met Sasuke's dark warping eyes.

"Why…Sasuke-kun?" she began shaking. Tears like diamonds spilled over, "Why is it that to sever your ties means to kill? Why can't you just accept your life for what it is and…move on?"

Sasuke's eyes remained emotionless.

"Chidori."

An electric blue light formed in Sasuke's hands. The cries of 1000 birds could be heard everywhere. Beyond the light, Sakura saw that Sasuke seemed to be transforming.

Sasuke leaped down from the branch, the light too bright for Sakura to see. She shielded her eyes as she stopped crying and collected her chakra in her fist.

_He's faster than before…It seems like he's…flying?_

Sakura was now completely blinded by the intense fury of Chidori. She punched the ground with all her might and fell underground, avoiding the 1000 Birds jutsu.

As the light faded and the smoke from the destroyed ground disappeared, the Fifth Hokage's student gasped.

Standing in front of her was Curse Seal Level 2 Sasuke, a form of him that she had never seen before. His skin was the same chocolate brown with a black diamond covering his nose. His hair had turned into a silvery purple and was rather long and spiky. But what scared Sakura was that he had sprouted wings that were so similar to frog legs. They were a gruesome brown color. The only thing the same about him were his eyes; Eyes that seemed to glare down at the young med-nin.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Sasuke spat, "Well, there's no escape for you now. You're finished."

Sakura jumped out of the deep hole to stand in front of and face Sasuke, "As they say, it isn't over 'till it's over."

Sasuke smirked, "Hmph."

Suddenly, the two were surrounded by the same blue light. Sakura felt a feeling beyond pain in her chest once again as the shrieks of the birds seemed to smother her.

_How?..._

As the light dissolved once again, Sakura collapsed to the ground. She saw nothing around her but crimson.

_There wasn't even a trace of movement! He hit my left lung…How is it possible to be so fast? _

_I'll live for a few minutes…but unless I get treatment…_

_I can prolong my life by a bit if I use my remaining chakra to stop the bleeding…But the battle has been lost. My life...nothing will remain of it…I need someone…to remember…_

As she lay on the ground, she noticed Sasuke looking down on her, his curse seal contained.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura winced in pain. She weakly raised her hand and used what was left of her chakra to stop the wound from bleeding.

Silent tears from the sky began falling to the ground.

"Sasuke-kun…I hope you succeed…with your revenge," Sakura panted.

Sasuke replied, embarrassed, "I don't even know where he is. But I will find him…And I WILL kill him…Even if I have to sell my body to the devil, I will do anything at any cost to destroy him."

Sakura laughed hollowly, "You've said that before, haven't you?"

"I guess I have," Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and sat by Sakura.

_What am I doing? Why don't I just leave her to die? Or maybe even just end her life now...Isn't our bond supposed to be torn now? It's supposed to be burned, shredded, torn, obliterated…_

_Broken._

"I'm going to die soon, right?" the dying girl asked.

"You're a med-nin, aren't you?" Sasuke answered in mock surprise, "Why don't you tell me?..."

"I know," Sakura spoke, "But…I guess I'm happy if you're happy. You are happy now that you've rid me of my life, my future, my dreams…right?"

_No…I'm not happy…Why? Isn't this what I wanted? Why do you have to put it in such a depressing way?_

_Maybe because it IS depressing…_

The young man stood up and looked up into the sky, "I won't be happy until he's dead."

"Oh," Sakura blinked, "But I'm contributing to future happiness…Your happiness…That's all that matters to me."

She spread out her hand and felt the wet rain against her palm. It felt so beautiful and tranquil…She smiled once again.

"Do you remember all the things we've gone through? Passing the test to become a genin, Tazuna's bridge, the Chuunin Exam…Orochimaru…"

"Yeah," Sasuke still avoiding Sakura's gaze, "You…protected me, didn't you? Then…I thought that those sound guys were killing you…I broke those guy's arms…"

"I was so scared," Sakura admitted, "You…were something else. Something that wasn't the Sasuke I knew. But then again, you have really changed."

"Listen…I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. For everything. You don't have to forgive me if you really don't want to..."

Sasuke turned around and looked down at Sakura, "For what, exactly? What have you done to me?"

"I don't know…things just don't feel right…I feel like a pawn in Orochimaru's unfinished game. Now that he's gone, you've taken over. We're completely on opposite sides now and the new goal of this game is to kill your brother. I'm sorry if I've stood in your way."

The raven-haired teen froze, "…Don't. You have nothing to apologize for." He then shuffled nervously, "How much longer until you die?"

"I don't know," the girl confessed, "But not very lo…"

Sakura began hacking up dark blood. It sprayed onto Sasuke's pale feet.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura stopped coughing, "I remember saying this before, but I need to say it…At least one more time…I need something to remain of me…Something to be left of me…Someone to remember…I love you more than anything, Sasuke-kun…I love you so much, it hurts…"

Sasuke's eyes widened. He fell to his knees and held Sakura's pale hand.

_What have I done?_

"I never thought someone would say those words to me again…" he clutched her hand and stared into her sea foam eyes.

_The bond is still there. _

"What's wrong…Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, all the energy that was left in her earlier gone.

"The pain of my whole family being killed my brother hurt," Sasuke digressed, "But…it can't compare to how I'm feeling now."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Sakura…You need to know this…You need to know now or I'll never forgive myself," Sasuke inhaled deeply.

"I…I love you."

_It's not broken…_

Sakura's eyes became as wide as saucers, "You…love me?"

Sasuke blushed as his mouth seemed to curve upwards, even if it was just by a little, "Don't make me say it again! I just…love you. I promise, we'll always be together."

Sakura ashen face smiled weakly and said quietly:

"Thank you."

Her eyes closed for the last time as her soul faded away. The smile on her face remained.

_But I am._

Black eyes stared at the consequences of Sasuke's will.

"Sakura?"

_I am broken. I've done all this just to kill my brother._

As the rain began to pour harder, Sasuke wondered:

_Will I really be satisfied if I kill Itachi? Maybe…_

_Maybe it'll hurt more if I don't fulfill his wish._

_His wish for me to "test his capacity."_

Sasuke took out a kunai knife.

_Sakura, you wanted someone to remember. I know that Naruto will, no matter what. Even Kakashi-sensei will. _

_I promised to you that we'd be together forever. It wasn't an empty promise to make you feel better. _

As he clutched Sakura's lifeless hand tightly, he directed the kunai at his chest.

_And if we can't be together in life…_

The kunai made a direct impact on his chest, piercing his heart. Blood spurted everywhere. As Sasuke fell on his back, he looked at Sakura, the still smile on her face like a porcelain doll.

_We'll go together in death._


End file.
